


As Long As Stars Are Above You, Longer If I Can

by lindsey_grissom



Series: Lizzie ‘Verse [1]
Category: Downton Abbey
Genre: F/M, Tumblr Prompts, canon AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-08
Updated: 2018-03-08
Packaged: 2019-03-28 14:18:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 912
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13905816
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lindsey_grissom/pseuds/lindsey_grissom
Summary: Canon AU: Charles bonds with Mrs Hughes’ niece.





	As Long As Stars Are Above You, Longer If I Can

**Author's Note:**

> This was a prompt response uploaded to tumblr for a look at Mr Carson and Mrs Hughes in a world where Mrs Hughes has a niece that she gains custody of after a tragic accident.

“Mr Carson.” She says, although it still sounds a little garbled, comes out like _‘misther Car'ton’_ which he has long given up trying to correct. She waits by his door for him to acknowledge her and he looks up from the ledgers, smiles at her and waves her in.

She beams at him, her aunt’s eyes bright in her face and hurries towards him. He is amazed, sometimes, at the similarities he sees in her. Is sure he isn’t just imagining them.

“What’s this?” She asks, standing beside his desk, her head just about reaching the top of it. She’s pointing at the books he’s working on, the ones he’s already finished with piled up beside him.

“Those are the house accounts.” He says, fights a smile as her nose wrinkles up in thought — that too is familiar.

“What’s ac—acor. What’s that?”

“Accounts?” He asks and she nods. After a beat he pushes back his chair and scoops her up, settles her light form on his lap so she can see the open ledger in front of him.

“These are.” He points to the lines of letters and numbers that will mean nothing to her {she can spell her own name, both in full and the short _Lizzie_ she goes by, can count to 10 using her fingers and Mrs Hughes is helping her with her reading from the books Nanny passes down from Master George and Miss Sybbie} and watches the top of her blonde head as she bends over them.

She runs a small finger down one of the columns, smudges the ink as she does and then stares at her blackened finger tip. Turns her face up to him. “Oops.”

His books are a mess and he’ll have to do this page all over again but her face is crumpled in, blue eyes deep and glittering and he can’t find it in him to be upset with her.

Perhaps he’ll have it out with her aunt later, after she’s been put to bed. Mrs Hughes won’t use those eyes against him, intentionally at least.

“Elizabeth May Turner.” He booms, which for some reason has only ever made her laugh, and reaches into his pocket for a handkerchief. She holds out her finger to him and lets him wrap it up in the cloth, rubbing carefully to get as much of the stain out as possible without water.

“Did I help, Mr Carson?” She settles her back against his chest once the handkerchief has been bundled up and pushed to the edge of his desk to be washed.

“Not really, Elizabeth.” He lets his hand be grasped, his fingers played with between hers.

“I used to help daddy.” She says, voice quiet and his heart breaks for her all over again, as it did that first night when Mrs Hughes returned to the Abbey from the funerals, the little girl wrapped up in her arms, a single extra suitcase with her and asked him to watch over her niece while she spoke to His Lordship.

“I’m sure you did, my dear.” He drops a kiss to her hair. “Why don’t you watch, so you can help me with them next time?”

She nods her head and he is certain that in a few minutes she’ll be asleep anyway.

“Daddy left.” She says a moment later and he draws a sharp line across the page in surprise. “Aunt Elsie says he’s in Heaven with Mummy.” It takes a while for him to work out the words through her lisping, less time than it takes for him to be sure his voice will work.

“Your Aunt Elsie is a smart lady, Elizabeth. She’s not often wrong.” He rather hopes the girl doesn’t go back and tell her aunt that.

“Is she going to Heaven too?”

He knows that he resisted at first when Mrs Hughes said she had asked His Lordship for permission to keep the girl with her at the House. That in his fear he had said things about propriety and that it was _'not the way things are done’_. That he hurt her enough that she told him he didn’t have to help, that His Lordship had agreed and if he didn’t want to be a part of the child’s life then he didn’t have to be. They would see him around the house, but she wouldn’t force either of their presences on him if she could help it.

Now, all these weeks later he is glad she did not hold him to those words, that the very next afternoon she invited him to their little tea party in her sitting room and introduced him as _‘my very dear friend, Mr Carson.’_

“No, little one. Your Aunt Elsie won’t be going to Heaven yet. Not for a long time if I have any say.” He adds, soothes his hand through her hair. She hugs his other hand close her her.

“Aunt Elsie says monsters can’t get me ‘cause you fight them. Will you fight her monsters too?” She pleads, obviously still scared something will happen to her aunt.

He sees Mrs Hughes then, leaning against his door frame. Wonders how long she has been there, what’s caused the soft smile on the face. He meets her eyes, the same deep blue, glittering in the light. “As many as she’ll let me.” He says and watches a single tear slip down her cheek. “For as long as I can.”


End file.
